President Droupadi Murmu will be on a State Visit to Angola and Botswana from the 8th to the 13th of November. This is the first-ever visit by an Indian head of state to the two African nations. The visit will focus on enhancing partnerships in areas like trade, defence and people-to-people ties. It also signifies India’s commitment to continuous and positive engagement with Africa and the partners from the Global South. In the first leg of the visit from 8th to 11th November, the President will be in Angola at the invitation of her counterpart Joao Lourenco. She will hold bilateral talks with the President of Angola and is also
scheduled to address the Angolan Parliament. On 11th November, President Murmu will attend the 50th anniversary celebrations of Angola’s independence. She will also interact with the members of the Indian community of Angola.
India and Angola are celebrating 40 years of diplomatic relations this year. The two countries enjoy close ties of friendship and cooperation, manifest in many sectors. While partnership in the energy sector is the most important, there have also been interactions on collaboration in agriculture, health, infrastructure and capacity building. Earlier in May this year, Angola’s President Joao Lourenco’s visit to New Delhi had resulted in the signing of three MoUs on cooperation in Ayurveda and traditional medicines, agriculture and cultural cooperation. Angola had also signed the framework agreement for the International Solar Alliance.
The current visit by the Indian President is an opportunity, not just to review the existing ties but also to explore possibilities in newer areas like space technology and digital public infrastructure, which has emerged as an important area of expertise for India. Angola is currently also the Chair of the African Union. It may be recalled that it was under India’s Presidency that the African Union was made a member of the G20. The interactions with Angola thus also have a bearing on India’s engagements with the larger African region. During the second leg of the visit, i.e. from 11th to 13th of November, President Droupadi Murmu will be in Botswana. Her programme here includes bilateral talks with her counterpart, President Duma Boko, an address to the National Assembly of Botswana and a visit to sites of cultural and historical importance.
Several dignitaries from Botswana will call on the Indian President, and she will also interact with the local community there. India and Botswana share the highest ideals of democracy and the rule of law, and will be celebrating 60 years of diplomatic relations next year. Botswana’s Vision 2036 document aspires to diversify its economy and to become a high-income society. This is an opportunity for India to understand Botswana’s priorities and explore how the Indian business community can partner with their Botswana counterpart. While traditionally, the trade between the two countries has been dominated by diamonds and gems, there are promising opportunities
in sectors like healthcare, mining, digital banking and medical tourism.
India is also engaging with Botswana for the translocation of cheetahs to India as part of Project Cheetah. The Ministry of External Affairs have stated that Botswana have indicated their readiness to collaborate in this area and expressed hope that the Cheetahs would be moving to India very soon.
In recent times, India’s engagements with Africa have seen growth across all key pillars. Be it the opening of 17 New Missions in the continent or facilitating the African Union’s membership in the G20, India has focused on this region as part of its general efforts at engaging the Global South.
There have been numerous high-level engagements, and the current visit of President Droupadi Murmu is in line with the priority that India attaches to Africa.
